Hyderabad: The Centre on Monday admitted that the Kharif (Vaankalam) target was fixed for procurement of about 40 lakh tonnes of rice from Telangana. In the wake of Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao’s letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Union government said it would consider increase or decrease of procurement estimates on the basis of estimated production, marketable surplus and agricultural crop pattern. But no clear assurance was given in this regard.
In a written reply to a question by the TRS MPs in the Lok Sabha, Union Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Sadhvi Niranjan Jyothi stated that the target set for paddy (in terms of rice) procurement by the Union government of India for central pool during Kharif 2021-22 is 521.89 lakh tonnes. However, the target for Rabi crop would be decided before the onset of Rabi season.
The Union Minister stated that during Kharif Marketing Season 2O2O-21, a record 61.87 lakh tonnes of rice was procured by State government and its agencies against the target of 55 lakh tonnes of rice fixed by the Centre. Further, the surplus rice offered by the State government was accepted by the FCI under central pool stock. However, the Union Minister evaded answering to the question seeking reasons for the FCI not procuring 5 lakh tonnes of rice produced in the KMS 2020-21.
Hyderabad News
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